The Further Adventures of Sparky the Squirrel: Part Two

Sparky the Squirrel

As I said yesterday, training your dog to listen to you could save its life one day. It certainly saved the life of Sparky the squirrel.

One afternoon I was in the drive way by the garage, when I suddenly saw my old dog Lady racing across the front lawn. Now this old rescued dog had arthritis and never ran; she just plodded. So I knew something was going on. I stepped forward and saw Lady had her nose right on a squirrel’s tail as they hared across the lawn together.

I bellowed, “STOP THAT!” And lady locked her front legs and skidded to a halt on the grass. The squirrel just kept right on full speed towards the small white wall, and straight over it through the railings, without a pause – to safety.

Lady, still standing there frozen, watched the squirrel disappear, then looked at me and her expression said, “What did you do that for? Now it’s got away!”

Naturally, Lady got lots of praise and attention and a biscuit.

So, having routine and discipline, along with, obviously, love, makes a well balanced dog – and saves Sparky the squirrel.

post script: This will never work with Little Monkey, as she is too much the hunter. With her, if I am quick enough, I have to intervene in person, or with the garden rake, if it is to hand, for extra reach. Even so, the squirrels have wisely learnt to stay out of the garden when the dogs are around!

 

18 thoughts on “The Further Adventures of Sparky the Squirrel: Part Two”

  2. Sarah Ferguson

    Just yesterday we were on a walk with Choppy – she saw a squirrel and took off, which I was fine with (someday, she will finally beat a squirrel – probably when the squirrel falls out of the tree and into her mouth). The squirrel went over the hill, and I didn’t know what was on the other side (nothing dangerous – just didn’t want her to go barreling into a kid or something). A quick, “Choppy, no” and she stopped. Training really is vital!

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  5. pensitivity101

    Maggie has rolled a pigeon (feathers everywhere but only the bird’s ego hurt), flipped a rabbit kitten because she didn’t know what it was, and got either swiped or nipped on the nose by an indignant squirrel which was faster than she was.
    As for saving her life through training, yes indeed.
    We were staying with a friend the first Christmas we had her, and had taken the dogs down to the local quarry. Maggie was in her element with all those new smells, and went trotting off on her own. She saw us in the distance and came running.
    If Hubby hadn’t yelled ‘Maggie! No!’ she would have gone over the cliff, a thirty foot drop and probably wouldn’t be with us now.
    We encouraged her curiosity but it was always under our control, and all we ever wanted from her was instant response to our verbal command. Her recall is 99% and we are so proud of her.

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    1. scifihammy Post author

      Wow! Impressive! 🙂 Dogs, like children, thrive on order and discipline. Of course there is tons of love, but love alone is not enough!

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  6. ady

    Lady is behaving more ladylike than LM,someday when free tell me the names of all the dogs you have,so far I know Spaghetti legs besides these two… Nice Pic ,squirrels are really difficult to shoot,but good idea of luring it to you… 😉

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    1. scifihammy Post author

      Lady was our first dog and perfect for my young kids at the time. All my dogs (they were all rescued and not puppies) are in a photo gallery in my post “What empty nest?” on 9 Sept. I only have two now, Mr SL and Little Monkey, but the others are always with me in spirit. I know it gets confusing as one day I am writing about things that happened That day, (my teeth!) and the next day it is about things that happened years ago! But my blog is for fun, and I write what I feel like, so hopefully you can bear with me 🙂 Thanks for your visit and support and have a nice evening 🙂

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      1. ady

        Believe me Sci,I literally wait everyday to read your posts.I love the way you stories are full of fun,small adventures,sometimes awesome photographs and sometimes a message/ideals(like the woolen blankets etc.)The more I read the more I admire of what a fabulous and kind person you are.It has been a pleasure knowing you. 🙂 Any events present or past feels to me as cozy as a bedtime story…Thanks for sharing it with the world..Have a Great Day ! 🙂

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      2. scifihammy Post author

        Wow! I have to say I blushed when I read your comment! Thank you so much! 🙂 I am really enjoying your posts also, and learning about a different country. These posts makes the world seem smaller and more friendly 🙂 Keep on blogging and Enjoy your day 🙂

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